Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1-3) ENDURE Every three years the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod hosts a National Youth Gathering for youth from high school age up to 21 years of age. It all started in 1980 in Ft. Collins, CO. Since then, we have met in San Antonio (3 times), Denver, Washington D.C., New Orleans (5 times), Atlanta, Orlando (2 times), Minneapolis and Houston. Of the 16 gatherings over the last 45 years, I have attended 11 of them. This most recent one in New Orleans, which ten members from Trinity attended, was definitely in the top three for me. You should be exceedingly proud of your youth at Trinity. NYG is exhausting and they did a remarkable job of running on little sleep and taking in as much as possible in 9 days. As some of you know, our first major hurdle was transportation. Just days before we were to leave, Ford recalled all 15-passenger vans. God provided. The day we left, Thursday, a Mercedes 15-passenger Sprinter came back early and off we went. We drove 8 hours and stopped in Memphis where we stayed in a VRBO right next door to Memphis’ famous Gus’ Chicken and we had hot chicken for dinner. The next day, Friday, we drove about 7 hours to reach our hotel in New Orleans. We were assigned the Double Tree on Canal Street. It was a nice, centrally located hotel other than the kids were disappointed that they were remodeling the pool. After we unloaded the food from the van that Trinity folks provided (the bell hop thought we were opening a 7-11), we went to a Jazz Experience. This was an educational opportunity to learn about Jazz. The musicians were great, gave a great history of the genre, and answered many questions. After the Jazz Experience, we went to dinner at a great little Italian place in the French Quarter, Frank’s Restaurant, where Brenda, Frank’s daughter was our waitress and she was perfect for our group with a wry sense of humor and filled with New Orlean’s hospitality. Next, we were off to a ghost tour where we boarded a bus and toured many of the spooky sites of New Orleans while learning a great deal of the history of the city. Highlights were a stop at the house used for American Horror Story and one of the old cemeteries. On Saturday, I took the group to Waveland, MS to spend some time swimming in the Gulf of America. We enjoyed the water and avoided sunburn! Then it was time to head back and get ready for the opening event. I encourage you to go the web and see the recap of the Gathering (Click here) because there is really too much to capture in this article. Essentially, the gathering is composed of a mass Bible Study every morning (each group is about 3,000 people), exploring the many exhibits at the convention hall during the day and then a Mass Event with all 20,000+ people in the dome at night. Our Bible Study leaders were two pastors and they did a great job of exploring the theme verse, Hebrews 12:1-3, and focusing on what it means to endure as a Christian. The Convention Hall is filled with exhibits and activities. There is a huge section devoted to sports where the youth can play basketball, volleyball, and a host of other sports. CPH has a large retail section. All the Concordia Universities and every district has a booth highlighting their ministry. LWML, LLL, LHM and every other Lutheran agency is there and offering all kinds of experiences for the youth. And, of course, there is food galore. Upstairs from the Hall is where all the sessions occur. There are hundreds of opportunities to learn. Just about any topic you can imagine is covered one way or another with hour long educational sessions. After a day at the Convention Center, we ate some dinner and got ready to walk to the dome about a mile away for the evening Mass Event which included music, inspirational and theological speakers, comedy, and Christian bands. Again, check you tube for more. It is amazing. On Monday, Trinity gathered with other English District congregations to serve the community. We walked the streets of the “sliver by the river” a section adjacent to the French Quarter and picked up garbage and scrubbed graffiti from signs. It was hot work in the Louisianan sun. This gathering, 3,380 people served the city of New Orleans with various projects like ours off site. The participants at the Convention Center packed over 160,000 mercy meals, donated almost 600 pints of blood, sewed 450 diapers, compiled 320 brail books, and donated 652 inches of hair. This is part of the reason New Orleans loves seeing us come to their city. Unlike many conventions, we always leave a place cleaner and better than we found it. The worship service on the last day, Wednesday morning, was amazing. Everyone should get to experience singing “This is the Feast” surrounded by 20,000 fellow Lutherans. President Harrison preached an incredible sermon and I encourage you to listen to it. Click here. I have served under 5 presidents of the LCMS and President Harrison is by far the best I have seen in relating to youth. Listen to the sermon. It is amazing. It was also pretty incredible to receive Holy Communion with 20,000 other Lutherans gathered together. We live is a place filled with Lutherans and even I forget how big a family we are. Imagine what it was like for youth who live in rural Alabama or Utah, where you might have to drive 200 miles to find the next LCMS church, to see all those LCMS Lutherans together for dinner. On the way home we stopped in Nashville for the night and stayed in another VRBO. On the last leg of the journey, we stopped to have coffee at Starbucks with our own former youth group member and NYG attendee X 2, Dr. Dr. Biladeau. Then we headed out for the last 6 hours home. It was an exhausting trip as always but very well worth it. The youth learned some things, were inspired and bonded even closer as a group. Between travel, lodging, food, registration and activities, the gathering cost about $1,700 per participant. $17,000 for 10 participants is a big number. Multiply that by 20,000 and we’re talking millions of dollars. It’s worth every penny. Over the last 11 gatherings, I have taken about 200 youth to the gathering. The vast majority of those youth had hugely positive experiences and saw a growth in their faith in and commitment to Christ. Some have described the gathering as the most important spiritual moment of their adolescent lives. Of course, a person gets out of an event like this proportionately to what they invest into it so not every youth will see it as a foundational moment in their development but enough do to make the time, energy, and monetary resources worth it. To have the president of your church body speak directly to you is amazing. To be able to see all of the Concordia University’s together is a one-time opportunity. To be able to play basketball, or volleyball, or work on a sleeping mat for homeless people or pack meals for the hungry with youth from all over the country is something one cannot experience outside of the National Youth Gathering. It is worth it. In 2028, San Antonio will host us once again and some of our youth who attended 2022 and 2025 are gearing up for a trifecta since they will still be under 21. I look forward to seeing who God will send and what we will learn along the way. Pastor Rogers |
